Select the Labs icon in the toolbar of MacPractice then select a patient with the Patient Selector. Click the green plus to create an Order in the Patient’s chart. An Order is broken into three parts: the Order Details, the Order Assignment and Status, and the Order Notes.
Start by entering in all of the Order Details by selecting the Laboratory Order Type from the first drop down box. You will notice that a new drop down will appear asking you to select the Lab Name for the Order. Enter in the Provider and the Office for this Laboratory Order. These will pull the patient’s information by default. Select the correct Incident within MacPractice. The Incident Menu can be used to help organize your labs. Ask your manager about the workflow in your office. Enter in a short description for the Laboratory Order within MacPractice. Be sure to give this Order a useful name as the short description will be available on the patient’s Clinical Summary. A Long Description can be added to help organize the order within the patient’s chart.
Once all of the Order Details have been entered, move to the Order Assignment and Status. Assign the Order to a user in the office. This user will be notified once the lab results are available for the patient. The status will default to Pending Results this status should not be changed as it will automatically update once the patient’s results are available. The Scheduled Date can be used for one of two purposes; you can record the date that the patient should be seen in the lab, or you can record the date that the results should be made available. This date is only used for tracking purposes within MacPractice. Use the Edit menu or the keyboard shortcut command S to save this Order.
Once this record has been saved, it is recommended to scan the paper order form, or save the electronic form as a PDF into MacPractice. This can be completed by navigating to the Attachment tab within the Order. Click the green plus to select an existing Attachment within MacPractice or to select a document from your computer.
MacPractice will automatically update the patient’s chart once the laboratory results have been made available. The Assigned User will see a blue notification on the Labs icon within the toolbar. This notification will change based on the patient that is selected. Deselect the patient from the Patient Selector to see all Laboratory Results that are available for your practice.
Select the Order to see the patient’s results. You can navigate between the Test tab and the Attachment tab to review the patient’s information. Use the Notes field to add any notes for the lab. Change the Unreviewed Selection to mark the laboratory as Normal or Abnormal. You can use the checkboxes to mark if the order has received a Preliminary Review and a Final Review. Once complete, check the Locked box to prevent unintentional changes. Sign the Order to place your digital signature on the Order. Note that the user will be required to enter their password to sign the Order. This will lock the Order details section from any additional changes.